Original leather sling? Help identify please

[Sonny1836]

Hello, I purchased this 1884 Springfield trapdoor rifle yesterday. It came with an unusual leather sling that I knew was not correct for the gun. After looking online, it shows a lot of similarities to the Civil War era slings. The only difference is where the hooks are, the leather is normally doubled over and stitched on the originals. This one is not. I am hoping that someone has seen this sling and can identify it. Also thought that perhaps it was originally doubled over and broke loose and re-attached without stitching, perhaps just cut down slightly. so if anyone knows the actual length of the originals that would help. Looking forward to any information you may have. Thank you.

 

[Package4]

Hello, I purchased this 1884 Springfield trapdoor rifle yesterday. It came with an unusual leather sling that I knew was not correct for the gun. After looking online, it shows a lot of similarities to the Civil War era slings. The only difference is where the hooks are, the leather is normally doubled over and stitched on the originals. This one is not. I am hoping that someone has seen this sling and can identify it. Also thought that perhaps it was originally doubled over and broke loose and re-attached without stitching, perhaps just cut down slightly. so if anyone knows the actual length of the originals that would help. Looking forward to any information you may have. Thank you. View attachment 491323

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It appears to be a trapdoor sling, surplus ACW slings were stitched together after the war to obtain the proper length for the trapdoors.
Edit: Look to see if you can find the area where two slings were stitched together, typically they stitched them with one hook and one loop end, but maybe this was a prototype or preference.

 

[scooter748driver]

What Package4 said.

By the way - welcome to CivilWarTalk from the Fort Sumter and the Fredericksburg forums.

 

[JimW]

with 2 hooks? I'm not familiar with that

 

[Sonny1836]

From George Gunderson of Gunderson Antiques in Lake George NY when I asked him if it was civil war

Unfortunately, I don't have any insights into the construction of the sling, but I have seen that Separate Company marking on things before. I'm not sure if it was a term that only New York used, but I do associate it with NY National Guard units of that period.

 

[iron bender]

The two hooks is interesting. I'm sure with enough deep-dive, this could be discovered. 1865-1903 provides all kinds of weirdness in gear. Of course it could be a hunter/shooter conversion